Taiwanese prosecutors have charged seven people accused of operating a human-trafficking ring that lured victims with promises of lucrative illegal work, detained them and planned to transport them to China for organ harvesting.
Three people were targeted, but none was taken out of Taiwan before authorities intervened, according to a Sept. 9 statement from the Taoyuan District Prosecutors Office. Prosecutors are seeking seven-year prison sentences for the seven defendants, while three juveniles accused of assisting the operation were referred separately to juvenile court.
Trafficking plot uncovered through seized phone
The investigation began after Taiwan’s Criminal Investigation Bureau examined a cellphone seized from a teenager in an unrelated case and discovered conversations about human trafficking in a LINE group, prosecutors said.
Investigators allege that a man surnamed Chiang organized trafficking routes and locations for holding victims beginning in August 2025. Members coordinated through Telegram groups carrying chilling names including “Whoever Misbehaves Gets Taken Apart” and “Fortune Favors the Bold.” TVBS reported that different members were assigned to contact buyers in mainland China, recruit juveniles, find victims and guard those who had been detained.
The group allegedly recruited three teenagers to post advertisements on Facebook and Telegram offering high-paying work as fraud couriers or smugglers. According to the official prosecutors’ statement, members promised payments of 100,000 to 300,000 Tether tokens for each victim successfully transported abroad for organ removal.
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One victim was allegedly taken to a residence in Zhongli District, Taoyuan, where members guarded him while arrangements were made to send him overseas. Two others were also targeted, according to reports describing the indictment. None ultimately left Taiwan.
Messages cited by Taiwanese media suggested the suspects understood the gravity of what they were planning. One member warned, “If this goes wrong, we’re all looking at life sentences.” Another wrote that once a victim reached mainland China, “basically there’s no problem — people over there can take them.”
Other conversations showed members pushing to move quickly. “Hurry up and confirm it — everyone must be gathered tonight,” one message said, according to a report carried by Yahoo Taiwan. Members also discussed whether a typhoon would interfere with boat transportation and arrangements for accommodation if departures were delayed.
Seven defendants face attempted trafficking and organ removal charges
Investigators searched five locations on May 21 and July 15, seized mobile phones and arrested the seven adult suspects. Four were subsequently ordered detained and held incommunicado, prosecutors said.
The defendants were charged with offenses including participation in a criminal organization, attempted human trafficking, attempting to fraudulently send people overseas for profit and attempted organ removal through deception for profit under Taiwan’s Human Trafficking Prevention Act.
The Taoyuan District Prosecutors Office said the investigation had “timely prevented” what it described as a serious scheme to profit from the sale of people and removal of their organs. Prosecutors asked the court to impose seven-year sentences as a deterrent.
Authorities also warned people against responding to suspicious high-paying job advertisements or accepting illegal work as fraud couriers or smugglers, saying such offers can be used to draw victims into more serious criminal operations.
Earlier Cambodia case followed similar pattern
The allegations echo an earlier Taiwanese case involving suspects who used promises of overseas employment to send a man to Cambodia, where prosecutors said buyers intended to purchase his organs.
In that case, the victim was told he needed a medical examination before traveling, but prosecutors said the tests were actually used to provide information about his organs to potential buyers. A trafficking group negotiated a NT$1 million deal involving his heart, liver, kidneys and corneas, according to Taiwan’s Central News Agency (CNA). The group used the code phrase “full dismantling” to describe removing multiple organs.
The victim reached Cambodia but escaped after the prospective buyer backed out. In a related prosecution, authorities described suspects offering victims apparently ordinary overseas jobs paying NT$60,000 to NT$70,000 per month while concealing plans to sell their organs. CNA reported that prosecutors called the scheme exceptionally serious because the suspects were prepared to remove the victim’s “heart, liver, kidneys and corneas.”
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